Garofalo is a Republican from Farmington, Minn., who has been a member of the state's House of Representatives since 2004.

In an e-mail to USA TODAY Network, Garofalo said his tweet was a commentary on professional athletes following the law - not a commentary on race.

"Pro sports leagues have a problem with some of their athletes obeying the law," he said in the e-mail. "This problem transcends race and is (a) symptom of the value athletes believe society puts on their athletic talent."

USA TODAY Network has requested comment from the NBA.

Garofalo tweeted back to two of the responses to his tweet. One of the tweet responses said, "there's more criminals in your profession than the nba buddy," to which Garofalo tweeted, "True. Can't really dispute that!"